Gas-engine motor for cars



(No ModeLj 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 D.B EST.

GAS ENGINE MOTOR FOR CARS.

No. 496,717, Patented May 2, 1893.

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' GAS ENGINE MOTOR FOR CARS. No. 496,717. Patented May 2; 1893;

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. D. BEST. GAS ENGINE MOTOR FOR UARS.

fr/15M reference to the'accompanying drawings, in

tors; and I hereby declare the following to be supported upon a shell 16 which is formed EJN TED STATES PATENT Gr mes.

DANIEL BEST, OF SAN LEANDRO, (JALIF RWIA' GAS-ENGINE MOTOR FOR CARS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 496,717, dated May 2, 1893. Application filed September 9, 1892. Serial No. 445,453. (No more.

.To all whom it nmy calmer/1 :30 it known that 1,1)AN1E1. BEST, a citizen of the United States, residing at San lieandro, county of Alameda, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Gas-Engine Noa full, clear, and exact description of the same. My invention relates to an improved gas engine and the transmission of power from it to propel a car.

It consists in certain details of construction which will be more fully explained by Which--- I Figure 1 is a plan view. Fig. 2 shows a modification. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the same. Fig. 4 is a face view of the clutch mechanism. Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken in the plane of one of the wheel axles show ing the clutch mechanism. The object of my'prcsentinvention is to provide a simple, compact, and effective mechanism by which the power of a pair of gas onginesmay be applied simultaneously to either one of the wheel axles of a car, and a means by which the application of the power to one pair ofithe car wheels will drive the car in one direction and its application to the other pair will drive it in .theopposite direction. A is the engine bed having legs I at opposite ends by which it is supported upon the floor of a car to'which power is to be applied. At each end of this bed is cast the circular head 0 and to these heads the cylinders .l are are bolted, the cylinders being also bolted to at each end above the legs and behind the circular-head U. These heads are mounted upon the bed so that vertical planes through their axes will pass upon opposite sides of a central line and suliicientl'y far apart so that the connecting rods 1 will connect centrally with the pistons in their respective cylinders, and with the cranks G which are formed upon the crank shaft II. This arrangement is accomplished bythc peculiar construction of the bed-piece A which is formed with ollsets or curves upon opposite sides as plainly shown in the plan view by which the cylinders are disposed withrelation to each other as above described.

.lictweeir'thc'eii'ds U is 'fQ mBd a trough shaped depression Iwhich gradually deepens from each end toward the center where it is sufliciently deep, as shown at l to allow the cranks (i to rotate freely without contact with the frame. A strengthening rib J having cssentially the same curvature with the trough I 1' extends between the legs ll projecting from the bottom of the trough, and formsa rigid support for the whole frame-work.

The crank shaft ll. is journalcd across the center of the frame and carries upon theoutside of the frame a pinion K. This pinion meshes with one of the gears 1., and this in turn meshes with the other gear L, and from these the mechanism fol-actuating the, valves is drivemthis notbcing shown as it forms no part of my present invention.

M M are the governors or the two engines which are driven by bolts N passingovcrpulleys 0 upon the horizontal shafts extending outwardly from and meshing with the gears upon the vertical governor spindle. The belts from the pulleys 0 pass around central pulleys l upon the cngineshal't and thus rcccivc their power. the crank shaft and outside the frame, is lixcd a sprocket wheel (2.- i I The car axle it has upon it a sprocket wheel llpon the opposite end of S suitably proportioned to the wheel (3 to prorunning, power is transmitted to drive the car in one direction.

U is a gear wheel fixed upon the shaft ll near the sprocket t). and made of slightly larger diameter to prevent the chain of the sprocket wheel riding upon it-in caseof accident. This gear wheel meshes with a second gcarwhccl V which is mounted to rotate upon a shaft extending outward from the side of the frame, and journalcdas shown. Upon the same, shaft is mounted another'sprocket wheel X and upon. the other axle R of the car is fixed asprocket wheel S',around which, and the sprocket wheel X passes the driving chain '1". It will be seen that by reason of the gears U and V, the sprocket whoelX will be driven in the oppositedireetion from the sprocket wheel Q,' a.nd, consequently, when thepower of the engine is transmitted through the chain T to the sprocket wheel S the pair of car wheels to which the power is then applied will be rotated in the opposite direction from the wheels d-riven direct-1y from the sprocket Q, and thus the car can be driven in the opposite direction. .It will be manifest within the flanges c as shown at m. outer ends of these levers rest upon the cones that power cannot be applied to both these pairs of car wheels at the same time, and in order to release one pair of wheels while the other is at work, I employ any suitable clutch mechanism by which power can be applied to either set, and thrown off from the other.

Fig.1 shows the clutch mechanisms applied to the crank shaft and the counter shaft, and Figs. 2 and 3 show the clutches applied upon the car axles.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the sprocket wheel S or S is mounted upon a sleeve 1, pref,- erably made in halves, and bolted over the axle of the car so that it can be easily removed at any time. The hub of the sprocket wheel is also made in the same manner, so that the sprocket wheel is removably secured upon this sleeve. Upon the sleeve a is cast or otherwise secured a disk I) having project. ing flanges c concentrlc with the axle, and

forming with the disk I) a shallow cup fixed to the sleeve a. It will be manifest that as this sleeve 0. turns loosely upon the'axle, the power of the engine will simply rotate the sprockets S and S upon their respective axles without transmitting any power to either. In order to connect either of these sprocket wheels with its axle, I employ a clutch mech-" anism fixed to the axle and adapted to clamp against the rotating disk flanges c. ,In the present case I have shown a spider consisting of four arms d secured to the axle and rotating with it. Each of these arms has pivoted to ita shoe e, the outerfaceof which is curved to the same curvature with the interior of the flange c, and is preferably shod with leather or other suitable substance to produce the proper frictional contact. These shoes have springs f which tend to draw them inwardly when not forced outinto contact with the flanges c.-

g is a cone sliding upon a feather upon the axle, and actuated by a clutch lever h which is connected with the lever 'i projecting downward from the shaft j. This shaft-extends horizontally along the floor of the car and has handles at each end so that there being one of these shafts with its handles for the clutch mechanisms of each axle, it will be manifest that the car may be reversed to drive in either direction by the operator whether he be at one end of the car or the other.

l are levers fulcrumed to the hub or sleeve The g, and it will be manifest that when the cones are forced toward the levers, the outer ends of the latter will be separated riding upon the surface of the cones, and when the cones are drawn away they will again be depressed toward the center. These levers are connected with the shoes 6 by means of rods m which are screw-threaded at their meeting ends with right and left threads which fit into an intermediate nut 0 by which the length of these rods is adjusted. The inner end of the inner rod m is forked so as to fit astride the lever l to which it is pivoted, and it will be manifest that when the lever l is forced outward by the action of the cone g, it will force the outer end of the shoe e into contact with theinner periphery of the flange c. As this takes place simultaneously with each of the four shoes e the frictional contact is sufficient so that the motion of the sprocket wheel '8 or S is transmitted to the corresponding spiders d, and through them to the'axle to which their hub is keyed. The cone ghas a short cylindricalcontinuation beyond'its hi ghest part so that when the points of the leversl have been forced up on this cylindrical portion, they will rest there without any tendency to slide back, and, consequently, there will be no strain or tendency of the levers to slide down the cone as would be the case if the ends remained resting upon the conical portion. By this construction I have greatly simplified the mechanism, making it easy tov reverse the car or to stop it while the engine still continues the motion,.and the speed of the car may be regulated without the use of intermediate speed mechanism by simply driving the engine faster or slower.

As shown in Fig. 1 ordinary cone frictional devices are illustrated and the relative positions of the gears and driving wheels are changed, but the operation is essentially the same.

Although sprocket wheels and chains have been described to transmit motion between the more distant shafts, it will be manifest that belts may also be used.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A car having mounted upon it horizontal gas engines, a single crank shaft to which the oppositely placed engines are coupled, a

sprocket wheel fixed upon said crank shaft,a second sprocket wheel flxed upon one of the car axles and a chain extending between the two, a gear wheel fixed upon the crank shaft, a second gear wheel mounted upon a shaft or stud, and engaging with the first gear wheel, a sprocket wheel mounted to rotate with the second gear wheel, a sprocket wheel upon the other car axle and achain extendingbetween it and the supplemental sprocket wheel, and independent clutch mechanisms whereby reverse motions of the car maybe obtained without reversing the engine, substantially as herein described.

2. In a car motolgan engine bed having cast with each end a circular head and a shelf to which the engine cylinders are bolted said bed having the offsets or curves at opposite sides and the axis of the cylinders standing in its difierent vertical planes upon said bed, a shaft. journaled across the center of said bed be tween the cylinders and having cranks in line with the cylinders, and rods connecting the;

cranks with the cylinders, substantially as herein described.

3. In a car motor, the irregularly shaped engine bed having cylinders mounted at opposite ends, a transverse crank shaft journaled across the center, toithe cranks of which the connecting rods of the two engines are coupled,

a sprocket wheel mounted upon the engine shaft, a second sprocket wheel mounted in line therewith upon one of the car axles, and an intermediate driving chain, av supplemental sprocket wheel mounted upon an independent shaft, and aehain extending therefrom to a sprocket wheel upon the other car sale, a gear mounted upon the engine shaft,

and a second gear with which it meshes mounted upon the shaft of the supplemental sprocket wheel whereby the latter is driven in the re- I verse direction from the one upon the engine shaft, and clutch mechanisms whereby either of the sprocket wheels may be connected with its axle, and the car driven in either direction, substantially as herein described.

' 4. In a car motor, horizontal gas engines mounted upon an enginefbed and coupled to a comm n crank shaft. sprocket wheels and intermediate gears wherebyrhe !IlUbiOI1S of the engine in one direction may be applied to a sprocket wheel upon one car axle to drive in one direction and to the other car axle to drive in the opposite direction, friction clutches and levers whereby said clutches are actuated so that either axle maybe driven by its connection from the engine, or both may be thrown out of gear therewith without stopping the engine, substantially as herein described, 5. In a car motor,a pair of gas engines acting sleeves of the sprockets upon the car axles,

frictional shoes carried by and rotating with the car axles, and 'a mechanism whereby said shoes are forced into contact with the frictienal flanges so thatm-oticnfrcm' the sprocket wheels is transmitted to the car axles, substantiall y as herein described.

6. The disks having cylindrical flanges with frictional interior surfaces, said disks turning loosely upon the car axle and having motion transmitted to them by sprocket wheels and chains from the engine shaft, hubs or spiders fixed to the car axle having frictional shoes e fulcrumed to them, and springs bywhich said shoes are normally kept out of contact with, the friction flanges, levers having one end fulcrumed within the flanges and the opposite ends resting upon the surface of a cone movable along the axle, rods' hinged to the movable ends'of the frictional shoes and to'said levers, so as to move the shoes outwardly when the levers are moved, clutch levers by which the sliding cone is moved along the axle Wherebythe outer ends of' thelevers which rest upon the cone are moved outward when tire Jone is forced between whein, allowed, to move inwardly to release the frictional shoes when the cone is moved away from i them, substantially as herein described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

i DANIEL BEST. Witnesses:

O. J. Lyrics, A. GoMEs. 

